Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Mia and Melissa went to horse camp!
(It was right after the 4th of July)

They were so so so excited!

Sarah and Ava take lessons at the same stable!

As it turned out Mia had Sarah's horse- Whiz!

And Melissa had Ava's horse- Gilbert!

This fall Mia and Melissa will be joining Sarah and Ava in horseback riding lessons!

I have always loved horses…

Sooooo, I am pursuing a childhood dream and I will be riding this fall, too!

Yikes, I can already feel it in my thighs…
I am hoping it will be away for me to relax and just enjoy these beautiful animals
along with some special time with 4 of our more capable children.
But I am concerned that
I will be sitting on top of one of these beauties making our latest grocery list and thinking of all the other things I should be getting done
; - )
Praying to relax and enjoy!

The stable is only 2 miles from our home!

And the teacher says she'll go easy on me!

I'm hoping my 56 yr old knees can handle it!

Whiz is such a gentle horse BUT he has very large teeth!

Next year there will be a few new campers at horse camp!

Sam, Anna, Ben and Ellie would like to do it too!

We will see who is ready (mature and confident enough plus we need to see how the can accommodate some of our special needs)!

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

So I am going to need to take some quick trips to see them... as often as possible!

She has changed since our last time with her- just 4 weeks ago.

She is smiling and smiling now!

Her sweet face lights up with joy and her whole body wiggles with delight!

She loves to study faces- especially her Nana's face!

She likes bling!

Earings, bracelets, watches and Nana's glasses!

Mr and Mrs Mulvahill-

more commonly known as Matt and Caitlin came over for the evening!

They are as happy as can be!

It was so wonderful being with my 2 bigs, my son and daughter in love and baby Emily!

I could listen to them chat and laugh all night long!

It brings me such joy and peace when I see my bigs get together!

The view form their deck!!

It was Caitlin birthday just a couple days ago so we had a mini celebration!!

I am enjoying every minute of our sweet baby girl!

Praising God for His many blessings and for this moment in Colorado!

Katie, Andrew and Emily are in their home now!It's not easy being in limbo due to an international move but they have handled it very well!Their furniture should arrive this weekend!I brought a blow up mattress to sleep on and slept like a baby (this is my idea of camping)!

So thankful for this treasured time with our grand baby Emily!(Katie, Andrew, Matt and Caitlin, too ;-)

Soon it will be time to head to the airport...

I am always excited to return to our children at home but also so thankful for a moment away-

About Me

Jim and I have been married for 33 plus years. He is the love of my life and my best friend! We have 5 older birth children and we are adding to our family through the blessings of adoption. We love the Lord Jesus and it is our mission to serve him. We have stumbled along the way but he continues to pick us up and send us on the journey he has planned for us. We are very thankful for that!

Email me!

I love to hear from bloggy readers! However, due to adopting so many treasures and homeschooling them it is challenging for me to find the time to email back. I will try but I can't guarantee I will be able to get back to you. This season will pass and in the future I look forward to being able to answer back! Thank you for your understanding!

jean.mulvahill@gmail.com

Friends to Share With!

Matt, Caitlin and Elodie(not pictured)

Matt (34 yrs old) and Caitlin were married on June 28th, 2014! They live and work in Denver, CO. Matt is working as a biostatistician for Denver Childrens Hospital. Caitlin is a special needs preschool teacher at one of the school districts in Denver. They have a precious little girl named Elodie!

Katie, Andrew, Emily and Ali (not pictured)

Katie (32 yrs) and Andrew were married on July 6th, 2012! They live in Alexandria, Virginia. They have two daughters, Emily 2.5 yrs and Ali 10 months old!

Billy and Kelly (not pictured)

Billy is 29 yrs old! He has his masters in accounting and works at a local accounting firm. Billy and Mark have a house about 15 miles away! It's so nice to have him nearby!

Mark

Mark is 27 yrs old. He is currently working on his masters in business through the Carlson School of Business. We are so happy he is finally living in the same city that we are in!

Johnny

Johnny is 24 yrs old. He is attending the University of St Thomas in St Paul, MN. He is playing for the Tommies soccer team!

Sarah Grace

Sarah is 17 yrs old. She came home in December 2008!

Emma Joy

Emma is 17 yrs old and came home in mid July 2010 along with her biological sister Ellie!

Ella Mei

Ellie is 15 yrs old and came home with her bio sister Emma in mid July 2010!

Mia Christine

Mia is 16 yrs old! She came home on February 2nd, 2013!

Ava Marie

Ava is 12 yrs old! She has been home since April 1st, 2011!

Melissa Faith

Melissa is 12 yrs old! She came home from China in early February 2013!

Abigail Elizabeth

Abby is 12 yrs old! She came home in December 2011!

Anna Violet

Anna is 11 yrs old. She has been home since August of 2007!

Benjamin David

Ben is 11 yrs old. He came home from China in early December 2013!

Samuel Jacob

Sam is 11 yrs old. He has been home since April 1st, 2011!

Madeline Mary

Madeline is 11 yrs old. She came home from China in early February 2013!

Joseph Michael

Joey is 9 yrs old! He came home with his new brother Ben this past December 2013!

Luke Lewis

Luke is 9 yrs old! He is our youngest! He came home in December 2011!

Quick Update On Us!

Hubby and I have 5 bio kids that are currently 21-31 yrs old. As our bio children were leaving the nest we felt called to serve our Lord through the blessings of adoption!

We have adopted 13 waiting children from China! Anna came home first on August 8th, 2007 (at 16 months). She is currently 9 yrs old! Sarah came home on December 5th, 2008 (at 8.5 yrs old). She is 15 yrs old now. Emma and Ellie came home on July 19th, 2010! They are bio sibs, and were 8 and 10 yrs old when they came home! They are now 14 and 12 yrs old. Next we brought home Sam at 4.5 yrs old and Ava Marie at 5.5 yrs old at the time of their adoption. They came home on April 1st, 2011 and are now 8.5 yrs and 10 yrsold.! Both of the kids are from Henan Province.

On our 5th adoption trip we journeyed to Abby and Luke. They came home at 5.5 and 3 yrs old. They have adjusted well! They are currently 9 and 6 years old!

We will traveled back to China for adoption trip #6 in January 2013. This time God blessed us with 3 lovely daughters from China! Mia is 12 years old, Melissa is 9 years old and Madeline is 8 years old now. We feel so very blessed to have these darling girls in our family!

Our 7th and last adoption trip to China was to bring home our two boys- Ben 7 yrs and Joseph 5 yrs. The boys are now 9 and 6.5 yrs old

We have had many many procedures and surgeries over the years, God has been so very kind and they have been amazingly successful!! We still have more surgeries in our future and we will rely on HIM and pray our way through.

Hubby and I are passionate about special needs adoption. We feel called to adopt and we are loving every minute of it! We are both in our mid to late 50's. We can't think of anything we would love to do more than what we are doing right now! We are thankful for this opportunity to enjoy these wonderful children!

We have chosen to home school our children from China. When adopting older children they really don't fit into one grade, they are combination of many grades (including 2nd in math but Pre-k in reading/phonics). We also feel like we missed out on so many years with our wonderful children, we don't want to miss out on any more! Plus it is great for attachment and bonding!!

If you are considering adoption feel free to email or message me with any questions you may have!